Dubai Investments Park Development Company (Dipd) plans to build Dubai's first $100 million private power plant in collaboration with a foreign firm to supply power to all industrial and residential units within its business park which is under construction near Jebel Ali port.

Three independent power producers (IPPs) from the US, Belgium and Ireland have been shortlisted for the build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract.

The plant is expected to have an initial capacity of 120-150 MW. By May-end, a contract will be signed for the construction of the project, according to Khaled bin Kalban, the firm's chief executive officer.

DIPD, a subsidiary of Dubai Investment (DI), said over 95 per cent of Phase I of the industrial park has been occupied by industrial tenants, involving an investment of Dh1.8 billion. The development of Phase II of the project, covering 400 hectares, will begin in a few months, he said. It is expected to require an investment of Dh60-70 million.

DI has also awarded a BOT contract to the US-based Metito for a Dh15 million sewage treatment plant that will service a golf course and the other landscaping surrounding the residential complex. The plant will supply 5,000 cu m of water daily when it is completed within the next 10 months.

Among the operations that will commence in Phase 1 Stage A, which has a specially designed area for the manufacture of light industrial units, will be a huge plant for the fabrication of structural steel and scaffolding.